Microsoft announced on Wednesday that more non-profit organizations are now privy to receiving free software donations - including Windows 7 and Office 2010 - from the company. Additionally, the amount of requests NPOs can make for available software is receiving a much-needed boost.
Brandon LeBlanc, a Microsoft spokesperson, detailed the changes (and tooted the company's philanthropic horn) in a post at the Windows Team Blog.
"This [nonprofit software donations program] is available in over 100 countries across the world and since 1998 over $3.9 billion worth of software has been donated," he wrote. "Of that, Windows has accounted for nearly $450 million worth of donations."
Microsoft believes over 40,000 non-profit groups take advantage of the software donation project each year.
LeBlanc said that 10 Microsoft products (up from the previous limit of six) are now available for non-profit groups. Since the company will issue 50 licenses for each, a single organization can potentially grab 500 copies he confirmed. New eligible NPOs include "medical research organizations, private foundations, and amateur sports and recreational organizations." LeBlanc also touched on Microsoft's attempts to keep its free software recipients on the straight and narrow with the "Get Genuine" program which the company believes will "help nonprofits ensure their existing PCs are running genuine versions of Windows."
Microsoft recently reaffirmed its decision to wrap up support for its decade-old XP platform by April 2014. Its next OS, Windows 8, should offer an easy transition for early adopters moving from the still-young Windows 7, based on comments made by Tami Reller, Microsoft CFO, during a speech this month. Reller said the upcoming iteration "can adapt to the user experience based on the hardware of the user."
